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The Erle Stanley Gardner Papers document the life and work of the American lawyer
and
author Erle Stanley Gardner (1889–1970) through manuscripts for hundreds of works
by the
creator best known for his Perry Mason series of detective
stories. The bulk of the manuscripts and related correspondence files evidence Gardner's
literary output, but also reflect his legal activities for the Court of Last Resort
project
documenting crime, justice, law enforcement, prisons, and prisoners, as well as Gardner's
personal enthusiasms for Baja, California, Mexico, camping, and travel and exploration.
A
second group of papers, the Additions to the Erle Stanley Gardner Papers, contains
later
acquisitions of scripts for the Perry Mason radio and
television shows; general correspondence files; Court of Last Resort files; Paisano
Productions files; additional works by Gardner and other writers (most either about
Gardner
or based on his writings); files for Thayer Hobson and William Morrow and Company;
as well
as files for travel, magazine submissions, plot notebooks, reference files, and
miscellaneous legal cases. Separate holdings of Gardner art, books, moving images,
personal
effects, photographs, sound recordings, and vertical file materials are also available
at
the Ransom Center. |
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The Erle Stanley Gardner Papers (222 boxes) were acquired by the Ransom Center between 1960 and 1977 and were originally described in a card catalog. A finding aid created from descriptions in the card catalog was placed online in 2022. The papers remained organized into four series: I. Works; II. Letters (outgoing correspondence); III. Recipient (incoming correspondence); and IV. Miscellaneous (third-party works and correspondence). See the
explanatory note for further information regarding the arrangement of the manuscripts as well as the abbreviations commonly used in card catalog descriptions. |
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Series I., Works, 1925-1973 (142 boxes) contains typescripts,
galley proofs, and page proofs for numerous novels (especially the Perry Mason series), travel books, short stories, articles and other writings such
as opinion pieces, reviews, and speeches. Gardner frequently dictated his first drafts
and
many of the recordings are available in the Ransom Center Sound Recordings collection.
Some
of the works also represent Gardner's writing for or about the Court of Last Resort,
which
reviewed cases against criminal defendants believed to have been wrongfully convicted.
Over
the years, Gardner wrote under several pseudonyms represented in these papers. Dominant
are
works by A. A. Fair (Cool and Lam series), with additional works attributed to Charles
M.
Green, Carleton Kendrake, Grant Holiday, and Charles J. Kenny. See the Index of Works
in
this finding aid for a complete list of titles present. |
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Series II. Letters, 1940-1969 (outgoing correspondence, 13 boxes) and
III. Recipients, 1940-1968 (incoming correspondence, 37 boxes) document Gardner's
literary, legal, and personal activities. Among his correspondents are other attorneys,
authors, family, fans, friends, publishers, and staff members, such as Merle Armitage,
F.
Lee Bailey, Melvin Belli, Jean Bethell, Thayer Hobson, Sam Hicks, J. Edgar Hoover,
Gene
Lowall, Ruth "Honey" Moore, Gene Roddenberry, Evelyn Waugh, and William Morrow &
Company, Inc. The Court of Last Resort project is also well-represented by correspondence
to
and from the team members, including Alex Gregory (polygraph expert), William A. Gilbert
(prison chaplain), Marshall Houts (lawyer, author), Gene Lowall (crime reporter).
Raymond
Schindler (detective), Clark Sellers (handwriting expert), Tom Smith (retired prison
warden
and his former assistant, Bob Rhay), LeMoyne Snyder (doctor and attorney), Harry Steeger
(publisher of Argosy magazine), and Park Street (attorney).
Much of the correspondence concerns their work on numerous cases, the best-represented
of
which are those of Marion I. Bowling, John Brite, E. L "Lefty" Fowler, Vance Hardy,
Sam
Sheppard, and the Wilson brothers (Turman and Utah). Much correspondence from those
convicted and their families is also present. See the separate Indexes of Letters
and
Recipients for names of all identified individual and corporate body correspondents.
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Series IV., Miscellaneous, 1838; 1931-1972 (30 boxes), is made
up of works by and correspondence between third-parties, plus Gardner material not
considered to be works or correspondence by him. There are, however, Gardner works-related
lists and notes, such as character lists, plot outlines, legal references, fact lists,
photo
captions, etc., as well as general Gardner notes and Gardner staff interoffice memos,
lists,
and notes. A fair number of letters written by or to Jean Bethell (Gardner's secretary
who
became his wife in 1968) are also present. A large segment of the series is correspondence
and documents concerning Court of Last Resort cases as well as internal documentation
for
the Court, including articles of incorporation and by-laws. An early document dating
from
1838 concerns Joseph Pitt (1759-1842; a British lawyer who prospered as a property
speculator) and the sale of some land in Cheltenham, England. See the Index of
Miscellaneous, which includes detailed descriptions from the card catalog for materials
in
this series. |
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The Additions to the Erle Stanley Gardner Papers (716 boxes)
include numerous scripts for the Perry Mason radio and
television shows; extensive general correspondence files; Court of Last Resort files
and
television scripts; Paisano Productions files; travel files; magazine files; Thayer
Hobson
papers and related William Morrow and Company correspondence files; plot notebooks;
reference files; and miscellaneous legal cases. Other materials are present, including
about
twenty fiction and nonfiction works by Gardner, plus a number of works by other writers,
either about Gardner or based on Gardner’s writings. |
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The Additions were acquired by the Ransom Center between 1973 and 2015 and first described
only in a box-level list (boxes 1a-479a). Starting in 1977, subsequent acquisitions
were
arranged in rough date order (boxes 480aR-710a). (Due to the addition of a, b, or
c to a few
box numbers over the years, the boxes actually total 716.) In 2022, after the finding
aid
for the card catalog segment of the Papers was completed, the existing box-level list
of
Additions was revised to somewhat expand descriptions, add dates where possible, and
regularize the entries in a draft finding aid. The Additions segment is still not
yet fully
processed, rehoused, or described. |
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Because the Additions to the Erle Stanley Gardner Papers are arranged largely in sequence
of arrival, much related material is scattered throughout the 716 boxes, but several
large
and related groups are easily discernable. An alphabetical Index of Additions to the
Papers
in this finding aid shows these major groups and also lists all of the additional
Gardner
writings present (some of which were published after his death in 1970), as well as
works by
others. |
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The major segments of the Additions are as follows: |
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1. Perry Mason scripts, 1943-1992 (223
boxes): radio show scripts, 1943-1955 (46 boxes) and television show scripts, 1957-1992
(177 boxes). |
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The Perry Mason radio scripts (boxes 59a-98a, 630aR-635aR)
exist as bound volumes of episode scripts (1943-1947) and unbound episode scripts
(1947-1955). Because the show ran five days a week in 15-minute serial episodes for
twelve
years, the scripts number 3,225. However, Gardner's staff documented that some episodes
were
lacking from the unbound episode scripts when transferred to the Ransom Center, while
others
are represented by duplicate copies. The bound volumes (630aR-635aR) are restricted
until
they are treated for mold. See also radio show publicity photos and captions, 1952
(box
626a) and radio programming and ratings information, 1944-1949 (box 638a). |
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Three different television shows are represented by scripts: Perry
Mason show, 1957-1966 (boxes 1a-55a; 554a-597a; 642a-710a); The New Perry Mason show, 1973-1974 (boxes 525a-529a), and the Perry Mason television film series, 1985-1995 (boxes 620a-621a,
624a-625a). |
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The original Perry Mason show (271 episodes over nine seasons)
is represented in three groups of scripts, along with 15 episodes for the later reprised
show, and 22 of the 30 episodes for the film series (1985-1992). A complete bound
set of
scripts for the 271 episodes (boxes 642a-710a) contains a variety of related materials
for
each episode, such as earlier script drafts, memos about the script writers, Gardner
comments and suggestions on scripts, editing reports, cast sheets, some headshots,
call
sheets, production reports, shooting schedules, set drawings (interiors), and program
standards and practices memos. |
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A listing of all television episodes (three chronological lists for the three shows
and one
combined alphabetical list by title) is included at the end of this finding aid to
help
locate individual scripts within groups of files in these papers. Because virtually
all of
the episode titles begin with "The Case of the", the scripts
are filed by the next word, for example, "The Case of the Restless
Redhead" is filed alphabetically under "Restless". |
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2. General correspondence files, 1925-1970 (158 boxes; boxes
124a-281a). |
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Among persons, organizations, or topics with at least one of box of correspondence
are:
American Polygraph; archery; automobiles; charity requests; Dell Publishing; Desert
Protective Council; Doubleday Publishing; employment; A. A. Fair; family; fans; Gardner
(general, medical, memberships); C. B. Hanscom; Robert Thomas Hardy; Joint Civilian
Orientation Conference; legal; medicolegal and forensic matters; Morrow (William)
and
Company; newspapers; Frank Orr; personal friends; photography; Pocket Books, Inc.;
political; publishers; radio; real estate; requests; Tee Rose; Hubert W. Smith; LeMoyne
Snyder; speaking engagements; speeches; Adolph Sutro; television; Willis Kingsley
Wing; and
writers. See also related correspondence files from William Morrow and Company (boxes
296a-299a). |
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3. Court of Last Resort files and television scripts, 1938-1970 (31
boxes). |
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The Court is represented by correspondence and other files related to the work of
the Court
of Last Resort project (boxes 56a-68a, 400a-417a; 508a-509a; 545a, 598a-602a; 636a-637a).
Team members represented by correspondence include Alex Gregory, Marshall Houts, Bob
Rhay,
Raymond Schindler, Tom Smith, LeMoyne Snyder, Harry Steeger, and Park Street. The
files
include cases concerning Clarence Boggie, Marion I. Bowling, E. L. "Lefty" Fowler, William Marvin Lindley, Tom Runyon, Sam
Sheppard, and the Wilson Brothers (Turman and Utah) among many others. There is also
substantial correspondence between Gardner and Nathan Leopold, Jr., of the notorious
Leopold
and Loeb murder, dating just prior to his parole in 1958 and continuing afterward.
There are
also television show scripts for The Court of Last Resort,
1957-1958 (26 episodes, boxes 56a-57a) and production files (box 58a). A comprehensive
and
useful alphabetical card index of Court of Last Resort cases is also present (box
545a). See
also the Henry Franklin files (boxes 519a-520a). |
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4. Paisano Productions files, 1955-1992 (27 boxes). |
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Files for Paisano Productions (boxes 58a, 548a-553a; 603a-614a; 619a-626a) contain
correspondence and documentation for Gardner-related television shows and other productions
and projects. After Gardner's death in 1970, his widow Jean Bethell Gardner continued
her
work as a partner in Paisano Productions along with Gail Patrick Jackson (later Velde),
Cornell Jackson, John Velde Jr., and Ruth Moore. A file called the Perry Mason
"Bible"(box 611a) contains several texts written by Gardner
describing who the character is, how he came about, and considerations for scripts.
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5. Travel files, 1918-1969 (23 boxes). |
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Files documenting Gardner's extensive travels (boxes 381a-399a, 510a-511a, 522a-523a)
over
many years focus especially on Baja California and Mexico, but also Asia, Canada,
Central
America, Cuba, Germany, the Philippines, the South Seas, and the United States. |
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6. Magazine files, 1908-1970 (19 boxes). |
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The magazine files contain correspondence documenting the process of submission and
rejection or publication of Gardner articles and short stories in serial publications
(boxes
437a-455a), such as Argosy, Black
Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, Popular Publications,
Inc., Saturday Evening Post, True Police
Cases Magazine, Youth’s Companion, and others. |
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7. Thayer Hobson papers, 1932-1962 (13 boxes). |
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Papers from Thayer Hobson (boxes 285a-295ac), the president and chairman of the board
of
William Morrow and Company and a long-time associate of Gardner, include correspondence,
clippings, and production materials, including original art and other items for Perry Mason comic strips, 1950-1952. See also related
correspondence from William Morrow and Company, 1940-1958 (boxes 296a-299a). |
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8. Plot notebooks, 1926-1969 (12 boxes). |
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Gardner’s notebooks (boxes 101a-107ab, 513a-516a) containing plot notes for his
writings. |
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9. Reference files, 1932-1968 (10 boxes). |
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An alphabetically indexed collection of files (boxes 427a-436a) collected on topics
of
interest to Gardner on legal matters, such as forensics, but also on personal interests,
such as guns and mines. |
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10. Miscellaneous legal cases, 1926-1968 (9 boxes). |
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A collection of files on legal cases (boxes 418a-426a) in which Gardner may have
participated or in which he was merely interested, including files on Boston strangulation
case, Brinks robbery case, Chinese cases, Alger Hiss, Sam Sheppard, and Lana Turner,
for
example. |
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Other types of materials present in the Additions include Gardner’s daybooks; character
lists; genealogical materials; notebooks and notes; staff files, including interoffice
correspondence, secretaries’ daybooks and shorthand notebooks; surveying notebooks;
and
writings by Gardner and others. |
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11. Writings by Gardner, 1939-1973 (11 boxes) and others, 1935-1989 (21
boxes) |
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Manuscripts of about twenty works by Gardner are present (boxes 100a, 295aa, 517a,
538a-539a, 615a-616a, 619a, 623a, 628a, 639a), both fiction and nonfiction, including
an
unpublished autobiography (The Color of Life) and three posthumously published novels:
The Case of the Fenced-off Woman (1972), The
Case of the Postponed Murder (1973), and The Knife
Slipped by A. A. Fair (2016). |
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Writers of other manuscript works (boxes 517a, 520a-522a, 530a-535a, 540a, 544a, 546a,
614a, 619a, 623a, 626a, 639a, 641a), either about Gardner or based on his works, include
Thomas Chastain, Francis L. and Roberta B. Fugate (Secrets of the
World’s Best-selling Writer, 1980), Jackson Gillis, Martin H. Greenburg and Charles
G. Waugh (editors of Whispering Sands, 1981; The Human Zero: The Science Fiction Stories of Erle Stanley
Gardner, 1981, and Pay Dirt and other Whispering Sands
Stories, 1983), Edmund Hartmann, Dorothy B. Hughes (The Case
of the Real Perry Mason, 1978), Andy Lewis, William McCleery (play, A Case for Perry Mason), Ruth Moore (compiler of Gardner
bibliography, 1982), Sam Rolfe, and James Stewart-Gordon. |
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12. RESTRICTED, 1921-1970 (130 boxes) |
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A total of 130 boxes remain restricted by the donor: Financial papers, 1922-1970 (102
boxes: 300aR-373abR, 480aR-507aR); Morgue files, 1921-1970 (21 boxes: 456aR-476aR);
Ranch
files, 1930-1969 (5 boxes: 374aR-378aR); and Real estate files, 1942-1969 (2 boxes:
379aR-380aR). |
